Date: No Date
Dimensions: 35.5 x 27cm
Medium: Oil on Board
Collection: Niland Collection
Provenance: Donated by The Haverty Trust, 1961

Description:

Collins usually painted in a restricted palette dominated by whites, greys and browns. The critic Brian O Doherty linked this colour scheme to the Irish landscape and described his early canvases as predominantly of one tone or colour, grey as if misted, or brownly aqueous, as if steeped in peat water.

Collins produced both urban scenes of Dublin and rural images of the west. Like Nano Reid and Louis le Brocquy he was fascinated by the Travelling community and painted a series of images relating to their way of life.

After quitting his job in the mid-1940s, Collins lived for a period in grounds of Howth Castle. This painting is believed to have been painted in Howth. Fairy Forts are the colloquial term for the remains of Celtic ring forts which were traditionally believed to be inhabited by fairies.

Written by Riann Coulter